Cathy O’Neil is the author of the New York Times best-selling Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy, which was also a semifinalist for the National Book Award. She is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion and founded the company ORCAA, an algorithmic auditing company.

She earned a Ph.D. in math from Harvard, was a postdoctoral fellow in the MIT math department, and was a professor at Barnard College where she published a number of research papers in arithmetic algebraic geometry. She then switched over to the private sector, working as a quantitative analyst for the hedge fund, D.E. Shaw, in the middle of the credit crisis, and then for RiskMetrics, a risk software company that assesses risk for the holdings of hedge funds and banks. She left finance in 2011 and started working as a data scientist in the New York start-up scene, building models that predicted people’s purchases and clicks.

Cathy wrote Doing Data Science in 2013 and launched the Lede Program in Data Journalism at Columbia in 2014.

Jeff Nally is the Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief Coaching Officer at CoachSource, the world’s most experienced leadership coaching company. He is an executive coach, HR professional, coaching supervisor, professional speaker, and author who brings the neuroscience of leadership and human interaction into the workplace.

Prior to CoachSource, Jeff created and led the Executive Coaching Practice at Humana where he coached senior leaders and established Humana’s Women in Leadership Group Coaching Program. He also co-created the first LGBTQ+ employee resource group at Humana. He has 28 years of professional experience leading human resources in manufacturing, healthcare, and coaching companies.

Jeff serves on the board of directors at the SHRM Foundation, the International Gay Coaches Alliance, and the National Speakers Association Chapter Leadership Council. Jeff is a co-author of Rethinking Human Resources, and Humans@Work with other HR and coaching thought leaders with all Amazon.com sales benefiting the SHRM Foundation.

Jeff earned a BA in Psychology from Georgetown College and an MBA from Georgia State University. He is a Senior Certified Professional with SHRM and Certified Virtual Presenter through eSpeakers.com. Jeff is a Professional Certified Coach with the International Coach Federation. He is a Results Professional Certified Coach with The NeuroLeadership Group and graduated with distinction with a Certificate in the Foundations of NeuroLeadership from The NeuroLeadership Institute. He earned a coaching supervision certification and leads professional development for coaches and HR professionals.

Jeff was named one of the top Twenty People to Know in Human Resources by the Louisville Business First Journal and is the 2021 recipient of the Thomas J. Leonard Coach Humanitarian Award. He is a past chair of the Kentucky SHRM State Council and a past president of the Louisville SHRM Chapter. Jeff and his husband, Bob, were one of the first same-sex couples to adopt in Kentucky, and they recently celebrated their 30th Anniversary.

Jessica Ray is a Workforce Retention Strategist at Crescendo Strategies, a firm that works with organizational leaders to shift manager mindsets so they can better lead and retain today's new workforce. She is a former manager herself with first-hand experience dealing with common staffing issues, such as scheduling and attendance, inconsistent definitions of “professionalism” and “work ethic,” and the widening generational gap.

Amber Hurdle helps professionals connect the combined value of personal brands, employer brands and business brands to bridge people strategies to business strategies. She personally understands what it takes to accelerate success as a former teen mom who evolved into a powerhouse business woman, having worked with international celebrities and Fortune 100 companies alike. Described as a, “talented and creative executive that helped create a compelling internal public relations strategy to keep the spirits of 3000 Gaylord Opryland Hotel employees high after the unprecedented Nashville flood,” Amber quickly developed a far-reaching campaign that served as the rallying point to achieve Opryland’s new and urgent business objectives. After leading the internal rebrand when Marriott acquired the iconic hotel and its attractions, Amber continued her enthusiasm for internal relations by launching her own consulting firm, serving large brands such as FedEx Ground, Loews Hotels, and Stella & Dot, as well as small to medium-sized businesses who want to play big. She was recognized in 2019 among the “Top 40 Under 40” by the Nashville Business Journal, as well as by the Nashville Area Chamber’s Nashville Emerging Leader Awards (NELA) as the winner in the Business Services category. As a professional speaker, Predictive Index Certified Partner, talent optimization certified consultant, author, and podcast host, Amber “the Velvet Machete” Hurdle creates content-rich experiences that energize leaders to boldly live their organization’s culture, attract top talent, and next-level their employee engagement.

Jeff Nally is the Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief Coaching Officer at CoachSource, the world’s most experienced leadership coaching company. He is an executive coach, HR professional, coaching supervisor, professional speaker, and author who brings the neuroscience of leadership and human interaction into the workplace.

Prior to CoachSource, Jeff created and led the Executive Coaching Practice at Humana where he coached senior leaders and established Humana’s Women in Leadership Group Coaching Program. He also co-created the first LGBTQ+ employee resource group at Humana. He has 28 years of professional experience leading human resources in manufacturing, healthcare, and coaching companies.

Jeff serves on the board of directors at the SHRM Foundation, the International Gay Coaches Alliance, and the National Speakers Association Chapter Leadership Council. Jeff is a co-author of Rethinking Human Resources, and Humans@Work with other HR and coaching thought leaders with all Amazon.com sales benefiting the SHRM Foundation.

Jeff earned a BA in Psychology from Georgetown College and an MBA from Georgia State University. He is a Senior Certified Professional with SHRM and Certified Virtual Presenter through eSpeakers.com. Jeff is a Professional Certified Coach with the International Coach Federation. He is a Results Professional Certified Coach with The NeuroLeadership Group and graduated with distinction with a Certificate in the Foundations of NeuroLeadership from The NeuroLeadership Institute. He earned a coaching supervision certification and leads professional development for coaches and HR professionals.

Jeff was named one of the top Twenty People to Know in Human Resources by the Louisville Business First Journal and is the 2021 recipient of the Thomas J. Leonard Coach Humanitarian Award. He is a past chair of the Kentucky SHRM State Council and a past president of the Louisville SHRM Chapter. Jeff and his husband, Bob, were one of the first same-sex couples to adopt in Kentucky, and they recently celebrated their 30th Anniversary.

Workforce thought leader Cara Silletto, MBA, is the president of Crescendo Strategies, a firm committed to reducing unnecessary employee turnover by bridging generational gaps and making leaders more effective in their roles. Workforce Magazine named Cara a “Game Changer” and Recruiter.com named her in their “Top 10 Company Culture Experts to Watch.” Cara is also the author of the 2018 book Staying Power: Why Your Employees Leave & How to Keep Them Longer.

Amber Hurdle helps professionals connect the combined value of personal brands, employer brands and business brands to bridge people strategies to business strategies. She personally understands what it takes to accelerate success as a former teen mom who evolved into a powerhouse business woman, having worked with international celebrities and Fortune 100 companies alike. Described as a, “talented and creative executive that helped create a compelling internal public relations strategy to keep the spirits of 3000 Gaylord Opryland Hotel employees high after the unprecedented Nashville flood,” Amber quickly developed a far-reaching campaign that served as the rallying point to achieve Opryland’s new and urgent business objectives. After leading the internal rebrand when Marriott acquired the iconic hotel and its attractions, Amber continued her enthusiasm for internal relations by launching her own consulting firm, serving large brands such as FedEx Ground, Loews Hotels, and Stella & Dot, as well as small to medium-sized businesses who want to play big. She was recognized in 2019 among the “Top 40 Under 40” by the Nashville Business Journal, as well as by the Nashville Area Chamber’s Nashville Emerging Leader Awards (NELA) as the winner in the Business Services category. As a professional speaker, Predictive Index Certified Partner, talent optimization certified consultant, author, and podcast host, Amber “the Velvet Machete” Hurdle creates content-rich experiences that energize leaders to boldly live their organization’s culture, attract top talent, and next-level their employee engagement.

Amber Hurdle helps professionals connect the combined value of personal brands, employer brands and business brands to bridge people strategies to business strategies. She personally understands what it takes to accelerate success as a former teen mom who evolved into a powerhouse business woman, having worked with international celebrities and Fortune 100 companies alike. Described as a, “talented and creative executive that helped create a compelling internal public relations strategy to keep the spirits of 3000 Gaylord Opryland Hotel employees high after the unprecedented Nashville flood,” Amber quickly developed a far-reaching campaign that served as the rallying point to achieve Opryland’s new and urgent business objectives. After leading the internal rebrand when Marriott acquired the iconic hotel and its attractions, Amber continued her enthusiasm for internal relations by launching her own consulting firm, serving large brands such as FedEx Ground, Loews Hotels, and Stella & Dot, as well as small to medium-sized businesses who want to play big. She was recognized in 2019 among the “Top 40 Under 40” by the Nashville Business Journal, as well as by the Nashville Area Chamber’s Nashville Emerging Leader Awards (NELA) as the winner in the Business Services category. As a professional speaker, Predictive Index Certified Partner, talent optimization certified consultant, author, and podcast host, Amber “the Velvet Machete” Hurdle creates content-rich experiences that energize leaders to boldly live their organization’s culture, attract top talent, and next-level their employee engagement.

Workforce thought leader Cara Silletto, MBA, is the president of Crescendo Strategies, a firm committed to reducing unnecessary employee turnover by bridging generational gaps and making leaders more effective in their roles. Workforce Magazine named Cara a “Game Changer” and Recruiter.com named her in their “Top 10 Company Culture Experts to Watch.” Cara is also the author of the 2018 book Staying Power: Why Your Employees Leave & How to Keep Them Longer.

Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic tells stories with data. She is the author of #1 new release storytelling with data: let’s practice! and best seller storytelling with data: a data visualization guide for business professionals, which has been translated into a dozen languages, used as a textbook by more than 100 universities and serves as the course book for tens of thousands of SWD workshop participants. For nearly a decade, Cole and her team have delivered interactive learning sessions highly sought after by data-minded individuals, companies, and philanthropic organizations all over the world. They also help people create graphs that make sense and weave them into compelling stories through the popular SWD blog, podcast, monthly challenge, and other resources. 

Dan Anderson is a Washington DC-based analytics professional. He’s passionate about turning technical data into simple, plain language and tools that enable business leaders to make rapid and informed decisions. After 15 years in corporate America solving all kinds of data-centric problems, Dan launched his own analytics practice in 2015. At Adaptalytics LLC (a blend of the words “adaptation” and “analytics”), Dan applies his experience, technical skills, and thirst for problem solving to support clients in using their data to achieve business goals. Their projects center on creating operational efficiency, as well as building custom analytical tools for clients. On a personal level, he's a Mustang enthusiast, musician, chef, husband and father of two girls, home repairman and engineer, economist and most of all, a data geek.